How do you limit the number of keywords that will be researched

[EricVallee34]

I'm working with a client who has a website, but doesn't really have a clearly defined idea of who their key audience is nor do they know what keyword phrases they would like to rank for. I know that I can generate a starting list by reviewing their site, but I want to set some parameters on it so I can provide an accurate estimate.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to do this.

[EricVallee34]

Great info!  Thanks.

[AlanBleiweiss]

hahaha wLoudogg - don't even suggest that - I've been offered such nonsense plenty of times.  Never makes it any more worth the insanity

[TheEspresseo]

You're getting a piece of this company, right?

[seospain]

I think Alan has made some really valid points. THE most important step in any marketing campaign is to know what you are selling, to who you are selling to and what your UVP is. If they don't know this then you are probably in for a really bumpy ride. I've experienced this and it's a pain in the butt for sure.

One thing I get them to do initially is to get them to sum up their business in one or two sentences. This will help them to be really specific and should give you a starting point.

Also get them to tell you who they believe to be their top 3 competitors or maybe which site they would like to emulate. This may provide further clarification as to what they are trying to achieve.

As Thomas mentioned, if they use analytics then taking a look at their current traffic and finding the best performing keywords in terms of avg time on site and low bounce rate could also provide you with a clearer picture.

Good luck!

[Thos003]

Do they have a sells team? Someone who talks to the customers? I would interview that individual to find out who they esteem to be the perfect customer. Ask them about the verbiage the clients use and the questions they have. If they have had a website long enough then you can dig through their site's traffic and analytics to find keywords that produce quality visitors. Longer visits, volume, etc. The bonus to this is that if they are already generating some traffic for those keywords then you should be able to boost those rankings.

[itrogers]

Im assuming your client has online competition? Show them their online competitors and what keywords they are ranking and optimizing for. Your client will love it if you outrank their competition! You also now know that you aren't going to be wasting your time and have an end goal.

[EGOL]

Alan has given a good answer...

... but in addition.... why not give them the URL of the keyword tool and let them go at it?

[AaronSchinke]

Alan is right on. Be transparent about this! Make sure they understand where the basis of SEO is formed and that your at a disadvantage by not being able to focus! Communication is key.

[AlanBleiweiss]

Eric,

Unfortunately you're in a very difficult position.  Personally, I would never proceed with a client who can't even define their own audience. They're quite likely going to change their mind often, and if you get involved this early on, will just as likely be overly demanding and play the "needy victim" role.  It's a mess.

Having said that, if you insist that you absolutely must work with them, the best approach might be to choose four, five or six topics you think are appropriate, run them through the Google Keyword tool, export each result set and pass them an Excel spreadsheet with each result set being in a separate tab.  Then, help them understand what the columns mean (competitive, search volume, etc) and let them chew on that data.  Explain that you need them to decide which phrases to go with, but that you can help them refine it down a bit.

Be very careful though to not get sucked into an endless hours vortex!